The Orme School - Review #5

I would say that Caravan is a really unique experience at our school, that other schools usually don’t participate in. Students get put into groups depending on your likes, and with at least two teachers, you all go on a mini camping trip with no phones. You get to learn a lot of cool things that can help in the classroom too, plus it’s a really fun experience to spend time with people you wouldn’t normally talk to.

The best thing that happened to me a boy in school was being the people that I consider my best friends now. Though it may be silly or basic, i know that those friendships will last a lifetime and that is a really important thing to realize.

Looking back at myself now, I’m very happy with the decisions that I made when I was a freshman because I was very open to meeting people and creating new friendships with people that I didn’t know that weren’t my age or in my comfort zone. So I was very happy to be that kind of person for my first year. My advice for others is to just be yourself! Because people will judge no matter what, but it shouldn’t matter what they think of yo. You should just want to have fun and enjoy your experiences, and you’re the only one that can do that for yourself.

The family that we create as a community. Everybody can be there for everyone, and having that type of relationships with you friends and peers is special because you have people to count on.

Like I said before, you’re creating your own experiences, so you want to try your hardest to turn those into memories that you can look back on and smile. Ask a lot of questions, everyone loves questions! Two snacks that I can say are my favorites is the ice cream in our candy store, and the gummies that they sell! I highly suggest for Commons to be one of the first buildings you enter. Most of our gatherings are in there and people just like to have fun. You can watch TV on some couches, play table tennis, throw some balls in mini baskets, and hit the cue on a pool table. It’s a time and place to socialize and talk to your friends, to invite the new people over, and to have fun. Our candy store is also located inside of Commons, along with a mini thrift store. Regarding dorms, our best one is called Stirrup Dot because it was renovated only a few years ago so it’s in top condition. But each dorm has something unique that makes them all special.

I believe that the academics at my school are really good for a college preparatory high school. You got a lot of options on AP classes like math, science, history, and literature, and each class has a significant way of teaching, which can include going outside and experimenting with plants, animals, and just nature in general. Our campus is a very beautiful campus and there are many chances and opportunities to go outside to be able to learn something with your class. Something that I like the most about my classes was being able to have one on one learning with your teachers. Their student to teacher ratio aren’t high numbers, so you get the have more individual time with the teacher in case you didn’t understand the material properly so they can explain it to you on your own schedules. With having the advantage of living on campus all year around, you get to work around JUST class times, and have the opportunity to be helped during open library, or other slots of free time.

We have a great Athletics Director that organizes all of our sports and events and games. Some sports that we have on campus include basketball, cross country, swimming, dance, soccer, volleyball and horsemanship along with others. One specific thing that I really like about the activities at my school is that everybody gets the option to be on a sports team. No matter what grade you’re in, your experience level or how many years you’ve been at that school, everybody can be on a team.

We have many options for arts! We offer a theater class and they perform one-acts (short, 2-4 people plays) and full size plays for the entire school. When it comes to art we have multiple different art classes, including dance. We even have a few students who have gotten there art placed in the gallery which is really cool. Something I really like about this factor of my school is that everybody encourages you to try your best at art. We have a Fine Arts Festival for one week during our school year and it’s just multiple variations of art that you get to do with a new group of people for one week straight. Then we have a big presentation by the end of the week and it’s a lot of fun to showcase it.

Besides sports and arts, some other extracurricular activities, we have are music and PE. We also offer several clubs, we have a Spanish club, and an International club, which help our school organize some fun events for the students there.

I think dorming is the absolute best part about going to boarding school! If you’re a new student, you have typically an older roommate, so they can teach you how life is there. Another option that you get to have is to choose your own roommate, my roommate is my best friend. And being able to decorate your dorm however you want and make it like home is such a fun experience. People get to visit and see or get inspiration for their room, so it’s always nice having company around.

We have a big dining hall full of tables and chairs. We also have an outside patio-like seating to be in nature but without any bugs bothering you. You have the option to sit with whoever you want but usually people sit with their friend groups, but everyone is always so nice about joining tables. The food there is absolutely wonderful, so much better than any other public school that you encounter, and the chef is very friendly and social so if you have any critique, questions or suggestions about the food, he will gladly take them in and make you happy.

We have a fairly small population of students at our school, so our town life is pretty calm most nights. We have the gym and commons (a gaming/relaxing area for everyone) open after dinner to distress, then you go back to your room to study for the next school day. On Fridays and Saturdays our campus is open until 10pm, and depending on the time of the year, we do pool parties, s’mores, water balloon fights/watersides, fires, and game nights to entertain the students that stay on campus for the weekend.

So easy to talk to everyone at school you can easily make friends with both the students and teachers, no matter what grade they’re in or how old they are. Everyone is so friendly.